NS Optimizing Grain Service

“With the increase in train size, our [grain] customers will now have to plan and coordinate their operations around fewer trains,” said Ed Elkins, NS Chief Marketing Officer. “This creates new opportunities to explore ways we can leverage the capacity this frees up for both the customer and Norfolk Southern.” (NS Photograph)

Norfolk Southern (NS) over the past year has partnered with grain customers to improve service and productivity, and those efforts have paid off, the Class I reported March 21. With each loaded train, NS is now moving 23% more grain.

NS has historically operated 85-car grain trains originating from locations throughout the Midwest. As part of its TOP|SPG operating plan, the railroad last April started working with customers on what it called “a more productive grain shuttle train size.” NS determined through analysis that a 105-car unit train was the “optimal” train size for its evolving locomotive fleet. “The 20-car train size enhancement will fully leverage the investments we have made transitioning our locomotive fleet from DC to AC and will provide greater capacity in supply chains for our customers,” NS reported.

The increased train size allows the railroad to now haul 23% more grain with each loaded train. “We are operating fewer trains and freeing up resources to create additional capacity on our network through key corridors,” NS said. “To provide a sense of the impact we have on our customers’ and the global supply chain, in the past year, NS moved enough oats, wheat, barley, corn, and grain to contribute to feeding 1.2 billion birds for the poultry industry.”

“We’re unlocking capacity to handle more business for both our current and prospective customers,” said Ed Elkins, NS Chief Marketing Officer, who earlier this month joined Railway Age Editor-in Chief William C. Vantuono on a Rail Group On Air Podcast to discuss NS’s accomplishments in 2023 attracting new business and growing existing business, as well as expectations going forward. “With the increase in train size, our customers will now have to plan and coordinate their operations around fewer trains. This creates new opportunities to explore ways we can leverage the capacity this frees up for both the customer and Norfolk Southern.”